Hand-worn Novelty Animal Horns

ABSTRACT

A novelty item, most likely to be worn at sporting or sports-related events, which fits onto a person&#39;s index finger and “pinky” finger when the person holds up only those two fingers, with the middle fingers and thumb folded in (the thumb could also be extended) to show fan allegiance. The core components of the item are two objects, most often shaped like animal horns, and a strap or other flexible connector, which are configured in an exemplary embodiment as follows: the strap or other connector, approximately 5-8 inches long, runs between and is attached to and connects the two horn-shaped objects, making one single object that fits onto the wearer&#39;s two fingers. The item can be used to cheer on a team, to mount on a wall mount, or for other novelty purposes.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application relates to, is a continuation-in-part of, claims priority from and the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/749,952, filed Jan. 8, 2012, having the same title and by the same inventors, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to novelty items and in particular to hand-worn novelty animal horns.

BACKGROUND

Many sports teams, as well as other organizations to which a person might have an allegiance, have mascots modeled after animals with horns, antlers, or tusks. There are many sports novelty items, but they are often generic in their form and related to a team or organization only by a logo. Others are also generally bulky, lacking comfort and portability. In the sports world, fans often have to park far away and carry their novelty items great distances. They are then stuck with them for the duration of the event. Further, where a school has an iconic hand symbol or cheer, most available devices cover the whole hand rather than the fingers alone, often interfering with or covering the traditional cheering hand symbol.

It would be desirable to have a novelty object that resembles animal horns or tusks (bovine, deer, rams, swine, elephants, even “devils”) that can be worn in an interactive way on the hand when the hand is held with the index and “pinky” fingers raised and the middle fingers folded down. It would be desirable to have a device where, when worn in this hand configuration, hand and finger movements manipulate the device as the user desires. It would furthermore be desirable to have the novelty device collapse or fold for portability and ease of use. Therefore, there currently exists a need in the industry for a novelty hand-worn item resembling animal horns that is interactive and collapsible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention advantageously fills the aforementioned deficiencies because the invention is specific to a certain type of mascot, it is comfortable to wear, it is built to accommodate longstanding cheering traditions, it is responsive to the wearer's movements and manipulation, and it will collapse or fold easily to fit into a pocket, purse, or other container.

The present invention is a novelty, hand-worn animal horn, which is made up of the following components: two elongated pieces of material (plastic, foam, wood, or other material) with a cavity, hole, slit or other suitable receptacle for a finger in each, and a flexible connector (like a strap). These components are connected as follows: the flexible connector or strap is connected to and runs between the base of each elongated piece of material. The device may be made of three independent pieces attached to one another. It could also be made as one piece, but structured such that the connector is smaller than and flexibly connects the two outer pieces of material. Each elongated piece of material (hereinafter referred to as “horn” or “horns”) has a cavity, hole, or slit into which the wearer can insert his finger. When the fingers are inserted into their respective holes, the overall shape is that of animal horns, with the hand between the two horns, generally where the animal's head or face would be.

The present invention may also have one or more of the following: 1) Materials—The horns made be made of any material. The horns may be plush (made of fabric and/or fabric filling), foam, rubber, plastic, wooden, or any other material. The horns may be hollow or filled, or any combination of the two. 2) Connector—The two horns may be connected by a connector made of any material as well. This material could be plush, foam, fabric, silicone, or any other material. It will most often be a fabric strap. The connector may be fixed to the horn in a number of ways as well. The connector may be (1) fixed with a rivet, (2) be embedded into the horn, (3) be tied or knotted to the horn, (4) be snapped or buttoned onto the horn, (5) hinged onto the horn, or (6) fixed in any other way.

In most of the variations, the strap or connector is folded under the middle fingers. This feature helps to distribute the weight of the horns to the rest of the hand instead of all the weight being on the two fingers on which the horns are worn. Pulling down on the strap helps lift the outer tips of the horns, minimizing the weight and torque on the outside fingers.

A novelty item of the present disclosure for showing fan allegiance has a connector member with a first end and a second end, a first novelty attachment attached to the first end of the connector member, the first novelty attachment having a finger receptacle, and a second novelty attachment attached to the second end of the connector member, the second novelty attachment having a finger receptacle so that the novelty item is wearable on a hand of a fan.

This is different from other available solutions because it is made to be worn on the hand when the hand is already formed into the traditional longhorn shape. Preferably the horns are made of a light-weight material to facilitate operation of the novelty, since the horns are primarily supported by fingers. The novelty item is comfortable because the connector helps (in most variations) distribute the weight of the item throughout the hand, rather than leaving all the weight from the horns on the fingers. This feature also balances the weight across the hand and arm and helps hold the device on the hand. The cavity for the fingers helps hold the device in place firmly on the fingers. The flexibility of the strap allows the user to fold or collapse the device, making it much smaller when not on the hand than many other similar cheering novelties.

This device is different from most other cheering novelties because it is structured to fit specifically onto two fingers rather than the whole hand. It is also different because its component parts give it versatility to move and respond to the wearer more than something made of a single part. This same multiple-component feature also allows it to become more compact than similarly purposed novelties.

Among other things, it is an object of the present invention to provide novelty hand-worn horns that do not suffer from the problems or deficiencies associated with prior solutions.

It is still further an object of the present invention to provide a sports novelty that is capable of being large enough to be seen at some distance, and also capable of becoming more compact and portable than comparable cheering implements.

It is still further an object of the present invention to allow the wearer to maintain and exhibit the traditional hand shape associated with his favorite team.

Further still, it is an object of the present invention to provide a comfortable and responsive novelty that distributes its weight across the hand, while worn primarily on only two fingers.

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are intended to be read in conjunction with both this summary, the detailed description and any preferred and/or particular embodiments specifically discussed or otherwise disclosed. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of illustration only and so that this disclosure will be thorough, complete and will fully convey the full scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a frontal view of the overall device when worn on the hand.

FIG. 2 shows a frontal view of an alternate form of the overall device when worn on the hand.

FIG. 3 shows a frontal view of an alternate form of the overall device when worn on the hand.

FIG. 4 shows a frontal view of an alternate form of the overall device.

FIG. 5 shows a frontal view of an alternate form of the overall device when worn on the hand.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the overall device.

FIG. 7 shows a frontal view of the device.

FIG. 8 shows an angled view of the device.

FIG. 9 shows a bottom view of the device.

FIG. 10 shows the device folded for portability.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure is directed to hand-worn novelty animal horns.

The item is made up of two pieces 110A/110B attached to each other by a flexible connector 120, with each of the two pieces having a cavity, hole, or slit into which the wearer can insert two fingers. The device may have many variations, taking the form of any combination of the several component variations addressed in the attached drawings and their accompanying descriptions. Some, but not all, of the alternative embodiments or variations are illustrated and described here.

FIG. 1. This figure shows the item 100 as worn on the hand. The dotted lines show in cutaway the portion of the attachment means such as a pin, screw or rivet, as it would extend inside the body of the base 130 of the horn after being set to hold strap 120. Here, the strap is attached by an extra piece, be it a rivet, snap, button, or other device, which goes through a hole in the strap and is anchored in the base 130 of the horn. In this version, the strap has a hole, and the horn has a hole. In specific embodiments the horn hole is threaded to receive a screw-type attacher. The rivet is placed through the hole in the strap as well as the hole in the horn to set the rivet 140 such that the strap 120 is connected to the base 130 of the horn 110A/110B. Affixing the connector like this allows it maximum maneuverability because it can pivot 360 degrees at its point of attachment. In this version, the fingers go into a hole in an angled plane on the base of the horn. This helps with the distribution of weight as well, and creates the effect of the horns being an extension of the finger.

FIG. 2. This figure shows an alternative embodiment as worn on the hand. The dotted lines 210 indicate where an embedded connector 220 extends into horn 110A/110B. In embodiments having an embedded connector, the ends of the connector are embedded directly into the horn material during or after the manufacturing process, and are held in place by glue or by the bond of the strap material to the horn material during manufacturing. This embedding process holds the connector in place, attached to the horns. In this version, the fingers go directly into the bottom of the horns, rather than into the base of the horn. The location of hole (310, see FIG. 3) allows the wearer to hold his fingers at a more vertical angle while maintaining a horizontal plane for the horns. This drawing and description show the preferred embodiment.

FIG. 3. This figure shows in partial cross-section a combination of features found in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, including an embedded connector, and finger holes 310A/310B located on an angled plane in the base 130 of the horn 110A/110B. The dotted lines indicate where an embedded connector would extend into the horn material, as well as where the fingers would rest inside the horn.

FIG. 4. In this version, the invention is one continuous piece, with the connector being made as part of the whole. This version would be most likely if the device were made of a foam or plush material. The connector is still flexible, so the collapsibility and portability is present. The portion connecting the two horns would continue down from the base of the horn, made of the same material, but be more narrow and flexible than the main part of the horn.

FIG. 5. This figure shows another alternative embodiment as worn on the hand. The device is one solid piece 500, with the middle section 510 making up the connector, which is simply made to be more narrow and flexible than the main horns 520A/520B. This would still be a flexible connector connecting the two horns, albeit as part of the same unit. If the middle portion were partially or wholly cut on each end near where the connector meets the horns, it could be hinged to the main horns in order to enable folding the device.

FIG. 6. This figure shows an exemplary embodiment of the novelty item from above, as it would look if made with a fabric or other soft strap connected to each horn.

FIG. 7. This figure shows the invention when not worn on the hand.

FIG. 8. shows an isometric view of the item with finger receptacle 810 visible in the base 130 of one of the horns 110B.

FIG. 9. This figure shows the item from below with finger receptacles 810A/810B.

FIG. 10. This figure shows the device off of the hand, folded for transport in a pocket or purse.

These drawings and accompanying descriptions are not intended to provide exclusive combinations of features and/or components. Each of the different features and/or components may be combined with any other combination of features and/or components to make a combination not specifically disclosed in one of these drawings, but still contemplated by this disclosure as evidenced by the fact that each feature is individually disclosed, and the ability to combine these features in varying combinations is also disclosed.

While the present invention has been described above in terms of specific embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these disclosed embodiments. Upon reading the teachings of this disclosure many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come to mind of those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains, and which are intended to be and are covered by both this disclosure and the appended claims. It is indeed intended that the scope of the invention should be determined by proper interpretation and construction of the appended claims and their legal equivalents, as understood by those of skill in the art relying upon the disclosure in this specification and the attached drawings. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A novelty item for showing fan allegiance, the item comprising: a connector member having a first end and a second end; a first novelty attachment attached to the first end of the connector member the first novelty attachment having a finger receptacle; and a second novelty attachment attached to the second end of the connector member, the second novelty attachment having a finger receptacle, wherein the novelty item is wearable on a hand of a fan.
 2. The novelty item of claim 1, wherein the first and second attachment members are in the shape of an animal horn.
 3. The novelty item of claim 1, wherein the connector member is flexible.
 4. The novelty item of claim 1 wherein the connector member is a strap.
 5. The novelty item of claim 4, wherein the strap comprises leather.
 6. The novelty item of claim 4, wherein the strap comprises plastic.
 7. The novelty item of claim 1, wherein the novelty attachment is formed from a light-weight material.
 8. The novelty item of claim 7, wherein the light-weight material comprises Styrofoam.
 9. The novelty item of claim 7, wherein the light-weight material comprises plastic.
 10. The novelty item of claim 7, wherein the light-weight material comprises foam rubber.
 11. The novelty item of claim 1, wherein the novelty attachment is connected to the connector member by an attachment means.
 12. The novelty item of claim 1, wherein the connector member is embedded in the novelty attachment.
 13. A novelty item for showing fan allegiance, the item comprising: a flexible connector member having a first end and a second end; a first light-weight novelty attachment in the shape of an animal horn attached to the first end of the connector member the first novelty attachment having a finger receptacle; and a second light-weight novelty attachment in the shape of an animal horn attached to the second end of the connector member, the second novelty attachment having a finger receptacle, wherein the novelty item is wearable on a hand of a fan.
 14. A novelty item for showing fan allegiance, the item comprising: a first light-weight novelty portion in the shape of an animal horn and having a finger receptacle; a second light-weight novelty portion in the shape of an animal horn and having a finger receptacle; and a flexible connector portion between and connecting the first light-weight novelty portion and the second light-weight novelty portion, wherein the novelty item is wearable on a hand of a fan. 